Tommy Kane
Encyclopedia
Thomas Henry Kane is a former professional American football
player who played wide receiver
for the Seattle Seahawks
and Toronto Argonauts
.
at Syracuse University
.
A third-round draft pick, Kane played for the Seahawks from 1988 to 1992, when his season ended early due to ankle and knee injuries. The Seahawks cut him during training camp in the following year, and Kane moved to the Canadian Football League. He played five games for the Toronto Argonauts
in 1994.
At the end of his pro career, Kane, born in Canada, volunteered at youth football camps sponsored by Montreal's Westend Sport Association, which he had attended himself as a youth. While with the Argonauts, he donated a year's salary to the Centre.
Kane is of African Nova Scotian descent.
.
According to witnesses at the scene and the Crown prosecutors, Kane had been discussing suicide before his wife arrived. While arguing about the possibility of divorce, he dragged her into the kitchen by the hair, slammed her head on the floor, punched her repeatedly in the face, and stabbed her in the throat.
Originally charged with second-degree murder
, Kane pleaded guilty to manslaughter
for the act. Prosecutors took his depression and drug use into account when permitting him to plead to the lesser count.
Canadian Superior Court Justice Fraser Martin described Kane as "narcissistic" and "manipulative." He also said, "By your act, Mr. Kane, four children are deprived of their mother. The circumstances of the homicide were particularly shocking." He sentenced Kane to 18 years in prison, which Kane's attorney told the press was "unusually harsh."
Shaikh's family filed a 1.1 million-dollar lawsuit against the jailed Kane. On May 11, 2010, the Quebec Superior Court awarded $590 000 to Kane's four children, and his former sister-in-law Ava Shaikh for the pain and suffering they endured because of Kane's action.
The Canadian television series Un tueur si proche aired a documentary
re-enactment of the case on September 16, 2005. The episode title is "Tommy 'Co' Kane."
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who played wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
for the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
and Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
.
Football career
Prior to playing in the NFL, Kane played college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
.
A third-round draft pick, Kane played for the Seahawks from 1988 to 1992, when his season ended early due to ankle and knee injuries. The Seahawks cut him during training camp in the following year, and Kane moved to the Canadian Football League. He played five games for the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
in 1994.
At the end of his pro career, Kane, born in Canada, volunteered at youth football camps sponsored by Montreal's Westend Sport Association, which he had attended himself as a youth. While with the Argonauts, he donated a year's salary to the Centre.
Kane is of African Nova Scotian descent.
Crime and legal proceedings
On November 30, 2003, Kane stabbed his wife Tammara Shaikh in his own mother's house in Lasalle, Quebec. Shaikh, 35, died in the hospital soon after. The couple had recently separated. She had come to his mother's house to help take him to a drug-rehabilitation center.Ex-NFL star Tommy Kane sentenced 18 years, November 11, 2004. CBC SportsCBC Sports
CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, with some additional broadcasts on bold, CBC.ca, and occasionally CBC Radio One...
.
According to witnesses at the scene and the Crown prosecutors, Kane had been discussing suicide before his wife arrived. While arguing about the possibility of divorce, he dragged her into the kitchen by the hair, slammed her head on the floor, punched her repeatedly in the face, and stabbed her in the throat.
Originally charged with second-degree murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, Kane pleaded guilty to manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
for the act. Prosecutors took his depression and drug use into account when permitting him to plead to the lesser count.
Canadian Superior Court Justice Fraser Martin described Kane as "narcissistic" and "manipulative." He also said, "By your act, Mr. Kane, four children are deprived of their mother. The circumstances of the homicide were particularly shocking." He sentenced Kane to 18 years in prison, which Kane's attorney told the press was "unusually harsh."
Shaikh's family filed a 1.1 million-dollar lawsuit against the jailed Kane. On May 11, 2010, the Quebec Superior Court awarded $590 000 to Kane's four children, and his former sister-in-law Ava Shaikh for the pain and suffering they endured because of Kane's action.
In popular culture
Inevitably, the Kane-Shaikh murder has been compared to the O.J. Simpson case in the United States.The Canadian television series Un tueur si proche aired a documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
re-enactment of the case on September 16, 2005. The episode title is "Tommy 'Co' Kane."